“The Importance of Mother Tongue-Based Schooling for
Educational Quality”
SOURCE:
Commissioned study for EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005
Carol Benson, Ph.D.
Centre for Research on Bilingualism
Stockholm University
14 April 2004
Part A: Overview
While there are many factors involved in delivering quality basic education, language is clearly the key to communication and understanding in the classroom. Many developing countries are characterized by individual as well as societal multilingualism, yet continue to allow a single foreign language to dominate the education sector. Instruction through a language that learners do not speak has been called “submersion” (Skutnabb-Kangas
2000) because it is analogous to holding learners under
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Code-switching and code-mixing involve alternation between languages, and are common communication strategies in bi- and multilingual contexts. Code alternation functions best when all parties are competent speakers of the languages involved, but in submersion classrooms it is more of a coping strategy for dealing with a foreign instructional medium and does not necessarily contribute to second language learning. As specialists Lanauze & Snow explain, transfer means that “language skills acquired in a first language can, at least if developed beyond a certain point in L1, be recruited at relatively early stages of L2 acquisition for relatively skilled performance in L2, thus shortcutting the normal developmental progression in L2” (1989: 337).
♦ Student learning can be accurately assessed in bilingual classrooms. When students can express themselves, teachers can diagnose what has been learned, what remains to be taught and which students need further assistance. In submersion schooling cognitive learning and language learning are confounded, making it difficult for teachers to determine whether students have difficulty understanding the concept itself, the language of instruction, or the language of the test.
♦ The affective domain, involving confidence, self-esteem and identity, is strengthened by use of the L1, increasing motivation and
“Code switching is a strategy that helps us communicate in socially and culturally appropriate ways. As we think about how we speak to different audiences — such as colleagues, pastors, doctors, children, and service workers — we recognize our own use of code switching. This is a natural and often unconscious response to modify our use of vocabulary, sentence structure, intonation, and topic of discussion according to our audience” (O’Neal & Ringler, 2010). Code switching is helpful in the classroom when teachers are able to use the local dialect but explain why he or she is using it and when it is appropriate. For example, in research papers students need to use Standard English so that it looks professional and informational. For narratives and creative works it is okay to use different dialects and word choice because it gives readers details about the author’s voice and writing style. Teachers can also teach students to be bi-dialectal so they can know how to speak to different types of people in different places. They can do this by comparing words we use in Standard English to words that are used in different cultures that mean the same thing. By using the students’ native/home language or dialect, we can bridge the gap and achieve the target goal of students learning Academic/Standard
The need to learn code-switching can arise from a variety of situations where people are required to become bilingual. There are several reasons to become bilingual. One of those is living in a bilingual community. In her article “From outside in”, Barbara Mellix
It refers to the use of the two languages within sentences or a conversation. When this alternation between the two languages occur at the sentence level it is referred to as code-mixing. According to Paradis et al. (2011), code switching and mixing are used by many typically developing, proficient bilinguals in all countries of all languages. This suggests that code switching is a perfectly normal behavior that does not need therapeutic intervention. Bilingual children commonly use switch coding to help them connect the languages they are learning. Researchers have found that code switching may occur in varying frequency depending on the situation or the context of interaction. However, increased use of the behavior suggests lack of competency in the language that is being used less frequently (Roseberry-McKibbin,
English is a just a language not a measure of intelligence. This statement is easy to comprehend but hard to practice. A majority of people are tempted to believe that English is a measure of intelligence and, in particular, an individual's ability to exercise brain power. As a matter of fact, the best that English – as a language – can be used to measure is relevant grammatical knowledge and skill level but not intelligence. According to Ghirlanda et al. (2014), intelligence refers to an individual's ability to not only grasp concepts but also build ideas on them. Knowledge, on the other hand, refers to the facts, information, and skills acquired by an individual through information (Polanyi, 2015). This proves (beyond the reasonable
Code Switching is the ability to change one’s language from two or more different languages or even dialects while talking. Code switching serves as a means of connecting individuals with certain communities. This can be seen with speakers of Spanish, who might code switch to Spanglish in order to exclude those around them that they know will not understand. We can also see an example of this in Lo’s study of code switching. Chazz, a Chinese-American, code switches into Korean when he wants to associate his opinion with Ken, a Korean-American. With the same use of code switching Ken states, “Doshite ‘Why’ (in Japanese),” (466.) In order to distance himself from Chazz, Ken code switches into Japanese because he does not want Chazz’s opinion
Code Switching: Student’s use two languages, their native language and English, in the same utterance or in the same stretch of conversation. The most common way young children use code switching is by beginning a sentence in one language and then switching to end the sentence in another language.
The Concept of language development was a concept that was relevant to my service learning experience. One particular aspect of this topic was code switching; this was primarily evident in children who spoke two languages, primarily in those who had English as their secondary language. Since they had not fully mastered either language the children struggled to express themselves with someone who did not speak their native language. They had trouble properly conveying their thoughts or feelings, and they went back and forth between languages, in attempt to further express themselves. They struggled significantly when they were told to only speak in English because they would often misuse or make up words that sounded a lot like a word in their
Since, the second language is an additional language after we acquire the first language, the L2 learning process can be influenced by the L1 learning process This essay will demonstrate the similarities and differences in L1 and L2 acquisition by discussing various theories. Then, draw a conclusion based on the evidence provided and my own experience.
The research is intended to find out the code switching and linguistic displacement among bilingual students and also find out how and when code switching occurs and the reason behind it and also tells that somewhere when code switching was easy but the student didn’t switch the codes. This article exhibits an inspection of CS examples between Francophone understudies enlisted in Anglophone organizations and Anglophone understudies selected in a Francophone establishment. These understudies' (willful) etymological dislodging enlightens the way this wonder shows among speakers outside of their semantic "safe place." This gives understanding into more significant Québécois character issues, for example, the ways that English versus French-speakers
Many second language acquisition theories have been developed over the years. These theories examine the avenues in which second language is acquired and the avenues in which they are
The first area of difference between first (L1) and second (L2) language learning is input – specifically the quality and quantity of input. It is the idea of the "connectionist model that implies... (that the) language learning process depends on the input frequency and regularity" (5).. It is here where one finds the greatest difference between L1 and L2 acquisition. The quantity of exposure to a target language a child gets is immense compared to the amount an adult receives. A child hears the language all day everyday, whereas an adult learner may only hear the target language in the classroom – which could be as little as three hours a week. Even if one looks at an adult in a total submersion situation the quantity is still less because the amount of one on one interaction that a child gets for example with a parent or other caregiver is still much greater then the adult is receiving.
In this world, there are a lot of languages used to communicate. Nation and cultural diversity are a source of variation in the languages. The diversity of the language used by a particular group is a factor of the occurrence of bilingualism. According to Grosjean (1984, p. 1) bilingualism is the use of two or more languages. The proficiency of bilingualism may vary depending on the exposure to the other users of language and opportunities to use the language. It is one of the factors of replacement of the language. This phenomenon known as code switching, it can occur as a whole, the incorporating elements of other languages in the language being used, or the turn of a variation of a language. Based on Poplack (1980) theory code switching is the alternation of two languages within a single discourse, sentence or constituent. Garrett (2010, p. 11) said that code switching is the most powerful feature of informal communication. Code switching happens when speakers speak in one language into another language as example when they
In every learning situation, the teacher stands as an important variable in learner achievement. The influence of teachers transcends the confines of the classroom. Effective teachers tend to shape the students’ cognitive development as well as their lifelong quest for personal growth and development.
With all the students having a difficulty in coping with their lessons, Mother tongue-based multilingual education may be helpful or not in solving this problem.
As the globalization of world economies, cultures, and peoples continue to increase, it is inevitable that languages also follow. In the present day, it is nearly safe to say that there are no nations in the world that are homogeneously monolingual. With the knowledge of two or more language varieties, comes the ability for bilinguals or multilinguals to move between two or more varieties within a single interaction. This phenomenon is known as code-switching (CS). It should be noted that CS is different from style-shifting and other language contact phenomena because the varieties being used are distinct – it’s one variety or the other at one time. Such shifts may occur at any level of linguistic structure, whether it be within a single paragraph, sentence, clause, or word. The places where CS occurs can be categorized into four subtypes: intrasentential switching (within a sentence), intersentential switching (between sentences), tag switching (tag phrases in a different code from the rest of the sentence), and intra-word switching (within a word). Each category has drawn significant attention from the sociolinguistic community, but the reasons for the occurrence of CS within the confines of a sentence (intrasentential) has attracted the most academic interest.